


Under my skin

by Topaz_y



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Cults, Drinking to Cope, Dysfunctional Family, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Pregnancy Scares, Sexual Content, The Walking Dead References, Torture, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombie Children, darker themes, some soft moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:42:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27461389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Topaz_y/pseuds/Topaz_y
Summary: Wylie Reed is saved from being executed by Troy, who had taken an unusual interested in her. Shortly after she arrives at the Otto family ranch, Wylie begins to develop feelings for her savior and everything seems like it might turn out okay until the Clark family arrive. Then all hell breaks loose.
Relationships: Nick Clark/Troy Otto, Troy Otto/Original Character(s), Troy Otto/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

_“Troy!” I yelled at the top of my voice while stumbling out of my tent._

_Whoever knocked me out of the night before done an outstanding job of it. I had woken up with a throbbing headache and dried blood stuck to my hair, after I managed to cope with the pain everything came flooding back like a tidal wave crashing over me._

_I scanned the area and couldn’t find the head of curly hair I was looking for._

_“Troy!” I yelled again._

_“You’ll wake the dead.”_

_I turned to face the person talking behind me and to my disappointment it was just Nick. I hated the goddamn Clarke with a passion. All this was their fault, anyway._

_I fought the urge to tell Nick to go fuck himself._

_“Where is he?” I asked, knowing he knew._

_A smug look spread over his scratched up face. “Sorry to tell you princess, but Troy is long gone. He left the moment things got tough.”_

_He was lying. Troy would never leave his home on the ranch without a fight. He wouldn’t leave me._

_I looked him up and down one last time before storming past him. Not long after I arrived at the ranch Troy taught me all the tell-tale signs that someone wasn’t being truthful, and Nick was currently showing all of them. Although his rapid blinking could be caused by something else..._

_I barged my into the cabin the Clark's were staying in, and it surprised me to see Jake inside it sitting next to the head of the Clarke family._

_“Wylie, how nice of you to join us.” Madison spoke in her usual condescending tone._

_“Where’s Troy? And don’t even think of lying to me by saying he’s left, your son already gave that away.” I replied glaring at her._

_The blonde sighed before looking up at me from the seat she was in. “He was a danger to us all.”_

_I looked to Jake, who was shaking his head at me. What the hell was going on? What did he know I didn’t?_

_“One day you’ll thank me. I realize you don’t think it now but you’ll see that what I’ve done is for the best.” Madison shrugged._

_I hoped things didn’t need to be this way. Jake gave me a disappointed look, as if he knew what I was about to do. Gulping down I reach for the handgun I had hidden by the large jacket I was wearing, just as I had my fingers wrapped around it, frantic footsteps caught my attention._

_It was Alicia. “Mom, we are under attack!”_


	2. Chapter 2

# Wylie

_“Has she calmed down yet?”_ A voice asked in an amused tone.

The once amused voice had quickly changed into a much darker tone. 

I flickered my eyes open to see I was in a dimly lit room. The walls and floor both covered in broken tiles, and dried blood. Glancing down at my nails, it horrified me to see my fingernails were raw and bloody. Had I tried to claw my way out of...whatever this place was? At least the room had one cubical toilet in it.

_“Easy Troy, I’m sure he meant nothing by it.”_

Snapping my head up, I could see three men all in camouflage jackets standing. There seemed to be some kind of problem going on between them. There was a slightly taller man staying in between a guy with blond hair and the other with thick curls. The guy with the curls looked like he was about to pounce.

Ignoring them, I took in my surroundings more and was disappointed to discover the windows had metal bars covering them. Great. And the only door was leading into the room the three men stood in. I had no way of escaping. Glancing down at my legs, I could see my body concealed in dirt and bruises.

I heard a whine of pain and glanced up to see one man shaking his fist while the other one covered his bloody nose. Ouch. So it was clear crazy violent people had taken me. Again.

The curly haired man stared at me as he put ice on his knuckles and I quickly squeezed my eyes shut, hoping he never seen me looking at them. Hopefully I’d fall asleep again soon, I was so groggy from the drugs I was on that I wasn’t mentally prepared to try and understand what was going on.

I had no idea who had kidnapped me, and I was dreading to find out.

#  ***

“Did you enjoy the show?”

I opened my eyes to see the curly haired man knelling in front of me. I tried to respond, but no words came out. His appearance was spotless, very unusual for somebody living in a zombie apocalypse. He obviously had access to necessities that most didn’t.

“Do you remember anything?” He asked in a nonchalant manner, but when I didn’t reply he let out a frustrated sigh. “Don’t make me ask again, what do you remember?”

“Why am I dressed like this?” I asked, ignoring his original question. I was only wearing a t-shirt and underwear.

He shrugged, “That’s all you had on when we recused you.” _Rescued?_ I followed his hand that was pointing towards an almost shredded blanket in the corner.

“You say rescued, I say kidnapped” I shrugged, “didn’t you think to give me any pants?” I asked frowning.

The curly hair man leaned in slightly closer to me. “You attacked the last person who sought to help you, almost scratched her eyes out.”

I tried to study his facial expressions to see if he was lying or not, because truthfully I had no memory of arriving at this place. “If you're going to kill me, just do it already. Don’t be a prick and drag it out!” I hissed.

The man said nothing, but a faint smirk grew across his face.

The noise of gunfire from outside caused me to jump. Suddenly I felt as if my lungs were filling with smoke and I couldn’t breathe. The smell of burning flesh and death hit me all at once, causing me to arch forward and release the contexts of my stomach. Unfortunately for the man my vomit made its way onto his footwear.

“I guess you do remember”, he scoffed before storming out the room.

# ______

A few days had passed, and I’d learned the man who spoke to me previously name was Troy. He was always watching me as if he was waiting for something to happen, while writing in his notepad. It was rather intimidating at first, but I got used to it.

However, I was thankful, Troy got one of the men to bring me fresh water, food, and clean clothes daily. This is what my life had come to, being grateful to have some sort of human rights. I had so many questions I wanted to ask Troy, like where the hell I was. Or what they wanted with me.

It startled me when the door to the glass room swung open with a loud thud and the blond-haired man appeared. He looked so angry. “Let’s go” he snapped while throwing a pair of walking boots at me. I cringed as one of them hit my face.

I rubbed at my bottom lip, feeling the small droplets of blood roll onto my fingers. _Shit._

“Where am I going?” I asked while sliding the boots on. 

The boots were far too big and would probably cause agonizing blisters, but I wasn’t in a position to argue. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d die from a blood disease caused by an infected cut. 

“Just move” he snapped.

My bones creaked as I walked behind him. It was the first time I’d probably stretched my legs in god knows how long and my body had become stiff. I had to stop behind him to give my knees a break.

“Hey!” He yelled before gripping my wrist. “I never told you to stop” he said glaring at me.

“Leo? Let go of her, I’ve got it from here” a voice said calmly. Another man approached us. “I’m Jake” he added looking directly at me.

I waited until ‘Leo’ left us in the hallway before speaking. “I’m Wylie, say Jake fancy telling what’s going on?” I asked, following him to a doorway that lead into a garage.

“A group of us have been looking for survivors, you were having violent outbursts and it would have too dangerous to travel with you in a car until you detoxed ..I’m sorry that nobody told you sooner, and for how rough Leo was being” he whispered.

Jake was dressed like the other men, but seemed different. A lot softer and more human than the rest of them.

“So you're letting me go?” I asked, hoping he would say yes.

“Well...” he trailed off hesitantly. “I can’t force you to come with me, but we are supposed to bring survivors back to the ranch.”

“What is the ranch like?” I asked curiously.

Jake looked like he was thinking hard for a suitable answer, “safe.”

“Nowhere in this world is safe” I responded, watching as he held the car door open for me. “If I got to the ranch with you, what would I need to do in return?”

“All my dad wants is information on what’s been happening on the outside world. If you speak to him and decided you want to go, I promise you can leave, I’ll even drop you off somewhere safe myself” he said seriously.

The garage had many men in uniform with weapons, I’d didn’t fancy my chance of trying to escape. But then again, I did not understand what these men wanted with me. Against my better judgment I got into the car with Jake when I noticed the men in uniforms starting to shoot at the undead.


	3. Chapter 3

# Wylie

I gazed down at the group of zombies clustered at the pit where I was perched. It was once a lake that had since dried up and now was just a huge hole in the ground. The bodies were so badly decomposed I couldn't tell if they had been male or female, all that was left of their human form was their tattered clothes, and head of hair. They might have been a doctor, a lawyer or a writer when they were alone, but now they were just the walking dead, hungry for fresh living meat.

The first time I saw them debated firing at them but decided it would be a misuse of bullets. Once they fell into the hole, they couldn’t get back out, and it would be a waste of resources.

It had been three weeks since I arrived at broke jaw ranch. It was ok. Jake was right that it was a real community, I could understand why they lived out here, it was wise to stay as far away from the infected as possible. The Otto’s had kept the community safe, teaching many of the men how to shoot, how to fight hand to hand. The women got taught more basic things like farming, cooking, and making clothes, but it was better than nothing.

Both Jake and Jeremiah both said I could leave if I wanted, but o knew leaving the ranch wasn't the answer to my problems. If a place like this in the country was this bad, then it would be even worse in the cities.

The wood beneath me creaked as I walked back, but the zombies didn't care, they were busy devouring a body that had been throwing in. A lot of the Otto’s enemies seemed to disappear into the unthinkable pit.

“What are you doing out here, princess? Looking for a date?”

I frowned at Leo’s comment. I seriously hated that guy, and he always seemed to follow me around.

“Well ha-fucking-ha, you asshole.” I shook my head and continued walking past him until he grabbed my arm. “Let go of me.”

“You need to answer something for me first, who are you screwing?” He spat.

“Excuse me?” I said, pulling my arm back.

Leo licked his lips at me and shook his head. “Everything changed from the moment we found you. You wouldn’t be getting special treatment if you weren’t getting fucked by someone in charge.”

Gritting my teeth, I ignored his comment and stormed off back towards my tent. Who the hell was he to speak to me like that? Nobody. He was nothing but a pest.

Leo continued to shout at me as I walked away. “What’s wrong? You don’t enjoy hearing the truth?”

“Go jump in the pit!”

# ______

As I pushed the food around on my plate, I felt someone sit down next to me. I glanced to my left or see Jake giving me a disapproving look, the same one my mother would give me as a kid. 

“You’re not supposed to go so far away on you’re own, but you already knew that.” 

I shrugged, “I got bored.”

He sighed, “I know, but my dad...he wouldn’t be happy if he caught you doing that. Plus, I don’t think it’s safe. I saw Leo following you out.”

“Yeah, he asked me who I was screaming.” I laughed, “he thinks I’m getting _‘special treatment’_ as well.”

Jake smiled at me.

“What?” I frowned.

He let out a soft chuckle before explaining what he found amusing. “If anybody else had broken a rule, they would have been punished by now, but he looks the other way for you.”

“Who? Your dad?” I asked, confused.

Jake nudged his head to the side, I looked past him to see his brother sitting by the fire.

“Troy?” I asked quietly. Jake nodded, still smiling. “I’ve hardly spoken to him, ever since I threw up on his shoes he avoids me.”

“He is very interested in you.”

“Is that a good thing?” I had heard rumors about how psychotic Troy could be. He sounded dangerous and explosive. 

Jake leaned closer to me, “he’s looking at you the now.”

Right enough I peered back towards his brother to see him staring at us. “It’s probably because we are talking about him, and you didn’t answer my question.”

“My brother is complicated, but he’s extremely protective over the people he cares for.” Jake glanced at his watch before standing up, “I need to go but just think about what I told you.”

What he told me? He told me nothing useful. If his brother wanted to speak to me, I’m sure he would have by now, Jake was just teasing me. Troy Otto wasn’t interested in me.


	4. Chapter 4

# Wylie

I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the flames in front of me. It was hypnotizing, and a great distraction. I’d woken up panting and sweating again, somehow staring into the small fire made me feel more at peace. I was struggling to pinpoint what was haunting me exactly. I thought briefly of Alan, what I have done.. before pushing the memory. 

A cracking noise coming from behind caught my attention. When I turned it was just two men walking past. It was pitch black outside, and the only people awake beside me were the guys who were on watch. Troy and his team.

This had been more tense in the ranch recently, Jeremiah was always in a vile mood while Jake was a lot more quiet and socialized less. And Troy... Troy was his usual strange self.

The Otto’s were the real power in the Valley. As the police and army failed, they stayed up there in their crumbling fortress, and they persevered it and made it a home. So far the only other group who had rivaled their survival rate and size was ‘the new society’, well they were before Troy and his men arrived. That’s who I was ‘rescued’ from.

The new society had originally been made up of thugs, and petty criminals, then it expanded to psychopaths. I had heard people around the ranch talking about how they thought the Otto’s were tough...they had no idea what the world outside had become. I had grown to be thankful for this place, it was safe and nobody was trying to kill or eat me.

“Hey, not able to sleep either, huh?”

I looked up to see Allister, one of the men on shift, glancing down at me. “Yeah, just the warm weather. Seen many dead tonight?”

“No”, he replied sitting down next to me. “How are you liking it here?”

I shrugged, “It’s alright.” He chuckled at my answer. “What’s funny?”

“I was hoping for a bit more than alright. I’ve been here so long I forget that it takes a while to adapt to life in the ranch.” He spoke while sharpening his knife. I vaguely remember Jake telling me Allister had been on the ranch for almost forty years working alongside the Otto’s before moving his family to live there.

A couple of gunshots rang out as Troy yelled for his men to collect the bodies of the dead. I blushed when he caught me staring, I was even more embarrassed when I saw Allister smirking at me. 

“You know Troy has said how good at shooting you are a few times, though I’m sure about his nickname for you.” __I frowned at the comment, earning another chuckle from the older man before he stood back. “You kids have fun.”

# ______

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” I yelled, feeling a hand shoving against my chest, causing me to stumble on my feet. Leo glared at me as I smacked his hand away.

“Drop the toolbox, or I swear to god..” 

“Or you’ll do what?” I challenged. “If you put you’re greasy, disgusting little hands on me again, I will break them. Now fuck off!” 

“Cute. A barbie doll like yourself shouldn’t be anywhere near a vehicle.” He said smugly.

All I wanted to do I’m that moment was rip the blond hair off his head. I hated him so much. Leo had been on my ass from the minute I met him. Turning my back to him, I suddenly felt a tugging on my hair, that cussed me to let out a horrifyingly loud scream. Fuck. Any infected near would have heard me.

Our yelling had attracted attention from a couple of family’s eating breakfast nearby, and Jeremiah who was walking towards us accompanied by his two sons, who both of them looked pissed. I groaned rolling my eyes knowing I’d get the blame for Leo’s outburst. 

“What’s going on?” Jeremiah asked in his usual tone of authority. Neither of us said anything, causing him to snap. “I’m waiting!”

Leo answered him fast this time, “Riley was tampering with the jeep.”

“Firstly it’s a pickup truck, secondly I was fixing it. Well, at least I was until put your hands-on me.” I hissed, not attempting to hide the venom in my voice, I ignored him deliberately saying my name wrong. I could feel Troy’s eyes travelling over my body as I shifted awkwardly on the spot. He was studying me.

“What’s wrong with the truck?” Jake asked, shaking his head.

I turned to see him looking at me sympathetically. “The engine is flooded, and the right wing mirror is cracked. Also, the one parked by the gate has two tiers that need changed.” 

“How would you know this?” Jeremiah demanded.

“I’m a trained mechanic”, I shrugged. 

The older man leaned forward and looked at the toolbox by my feet, before glancing back at his sons. “Make sure she signs all the tools back in.”

I stood watching as Jeremiah walked away, with a slight sway to his step. Was he drunk? I gulped, looking between Troy who was clenching his jaw. _Oh shit._

“Don’t you have somewhere to be Leo?” Jake said, raising his eyebrows. The blond made a grunting noise before storming off. “Do we have enough tools for you to do to daily maintenance?”

“No, but I could make a list of things you could pick up on the next supply run?” I suggested to Jake, and only Jake. The intense stare Troy was giving me was making me too nervous to look directly at him.

Jake’s hardened face softened, “or you could get them yourself.”

“Wh...what?” I was confused about what he meant. Usually nobody got to leave the ranch unless they were a part of a ‘team’. “I mean it would be easier, so I knew myself what I was getting...”

“We leave in five minutes.” Troy said before leaning in closer to me, “oh, and you better bring you’re secret gun. Just in case we run into any infected.”

I watched Troy walk away speechless before I looked at Jake, who was trying not to laugh. I was officially going to leave the ranch with Troy, great.


	5. Chapter 5

# Jake

“Do you really think it was wise to let Troy run off with that girl?” My father asked with a sigh.

“They have gone on a supply run for tools that we need.” I shut his office door behind me, not wanting anyone to overhear our conversation. It wouldn’t be good for any of us if whispered spread around the ranch that the Otto’s weren’t a strong front. “And I actually think she’s a good influence on him.” 

“Oh, really? What would make you think that? Your brother has still been getting himself into trouble, I don’t want some girl distracting him.” My father said in a flat tone.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure how to describe it he just seems different, he thinks more before acting.”

“Not his usual shoot first and ask questions later?”

“No, he’s calmed down. I am worried that he might do something erratic if Leo doesn’t leave Wylie alone...I think we should work something out...we can’t have people not feeling safe in their own home.” My father raised his eyebrows at me. “People will start to leave if they feel scared. Leo has been harassing the single females for a while now.

My father tutted, “women will always overreact son.”

I pressed my lips together in defeat. I didn’t agree with him, but there was no point in arguing with my father on a subject like that. Even though he was sexist, homophobic, and racist, my father was still in charge. I had learned the hard way not to challenge him.

I cleared my throat before backing towards the door. “I’ll leave you to it, I have a shift starting in twenty minutes.”

“Jake” my father said, making me stop in my tracks. “This girl, Wylie?”

“What about her?” I asked.

“This little plan to use her to distract your brother, do you expect it will work?”

“That wasn’t-that’s not my intention l. I just think it would be good if Troy had a friend who wasn’t a solider.” I watched my fathers eyebrows come together as he frowned at my comment, most likely because he didn’t understand it. “You’ve seen them out there, they rile each other up. Wylie is a Survivor, she’s smart and can look after herself, and she might even teach Troy how to change a tire correctly.”

My father chuckled at the last part. “Okay son, you can talk to Leo about his behavior. But if this thing with your brother backfires, I’m holding you responsible.”

“Understood.”

# Wylie

I walked up and down the aisles of the abandon gas station, looking for anything that might catch my eye. We had found the tools I needed along with other supplies, after clearing out a few undead. The drive up was almost in complete silence, apart from a few mumbled comments from Troy about how Leo was crossing a line.

I stopped walking when I came across feminine products. Sanitary products wasn’t something that I often found, and I didn’t like the idea of visiting the ranch nurse every month. I open up two boxes and poured them into my pocket. Troy was in the bathrooms I wasn’t worried about him catching me taking something that wasn’t on the list. 

I started walking again until a came across hairbrushes and make up. It was strange that seeing something, so basic made me feel almost normal again. Smiling, I pulled the elastic band out of my hair and began brushing it. When I was done I applied a nude lipstick that I then shoved in my pocket. 

“Hey, Wylie?” Troy said standing at the end of the aisle.

I immediately felt my face burning.“Yeah?” 

“You, uh…you look nice,” Troy replied, before shifting his feet awkwardly.

“Thanks. A girl likes to feel pretty now and then before kicking some zombie ass.”

“Have you got everything you need?” I nodded “Alright. Let's get this show on the road,” he muttered.

We packed the truck up quickly and headed off back to the ranch. The trip back felt different. A little lighter. Troy was actually talking to me.

“So how come you know so much about cars?”

“My old man owned a garage” I explained, “I used to help out at the weekends and after school.”

“Sounds like you two were close.”

“We were. My parents split up when I was younger, and I stayed with my dad.” I said rolling down the window hoping to get some relief from the dry heat.

“Why? Wouldn’t you have rather gone with your mom?” I noticed the confused expression on Troy’s face.

“My mom only moved two streets away, I saw her and my sister almost every day. Is Jake you’re only sibling?” I asked curious?

“Yes.” Troy snapped, taking me by surprise. He let out a deep sigh, “Tell me more about yourself, the family life stuff.”

“I stayed with my dad because I had more in common with him, and I didn’t want to leave him on his own. My twin sister Libby was a beautician, and my mom was a nurse.”

“What happened to them?”

The question took aback me. It would be the first time I spoke about what happened to them out loud. “My mom and sister died when the outbreak first happened. I was in the shower when a walker got into the house, by the time I ran downstairs it was too late.”

“How did you escape the Walker?”

“I smashed its head in with a lamp. My dad was out of town, so I just packed up and left.” I paused for a moment. “I met a lot of good people while trying to find him, hopefully I will some day.”

Without taking his eyes off the road, Troy squeezed my shoulder. He didn’t say any words, but his touch seemed to comfort me.

We sat in a comfortable silence until we reached the ranch. A small gather of ‘soldiers’ where at the gate. “What the hell is going on?” I said, leaning forward to try and get a better look.

“I’ve no fucking idea.”


	6. Chapter 6

# Wylie

**_We sat in a comfortable silence until we reached the ranch. A small gathering of ‘soldiers’ were at the gate. “What the hell is going on?” I said, leaning forward to try and get a better look._ **

**_“I’ve no fucking idea.”_ **

I watched as Troy rushed to separate the fight that was taking place. On closer inspection, I could see Leo was beating up Jake. Oh shit. This would not end well.

Troy pulled Leo off his brother with ease. “What the hell is going on?”

Neither Jake nor Leo answered.

Jake fixed his shirt and rubbed the blood off his nose. “I’ll see you up at the house later.”

I felt guilty, like I should have done something to help Jake. He had been a good ally since I’d arrived at the ranch, and I now considered him a friend. I was busy watching Jake, I nearly missed Leo trying to square up to Troy.

Two other guys tried to talk him out of it. 

_‘Come on man, this isn’t worth it.’_

_‘This is crossing a line, Leo, back down now.’_

_‘Troy will beat your ass, walk away while you still can.’_

Surprisingly Troy wasn’t taking the bait. I couldn’t hear everything Leo was saying to him, but I heard the mention of Jake and Jeremiah's names. Troy stood firmly while Leo got closer to his face.

Glancing between both Otto brothers, I took in their situations. Troy was now standing with a smug look on his face, and his brother was a good distance away from the madness. After a moment of pondering what to do I decided to go after Jake, so he wasn’t alone. As I started to walk away I heard a yelping noise, I quickly turned around to see Leo clutching at his face as another guy had his hand on Troy’s chest trying to calm him down. 

When the prick stepped back I was able to see his nose, and how fucked up it looked. Good. He deserved it.

I glanced over at Troy who was already staring at me; he gave me a slight nod. Taking it as a go ahead, I made my way towards their house.

# ______

I knocked on the front door and entered after hearing a muffled ‘come in’ from Jake. “Hey, how are you?”

He was sitting by the kitchen table with a cold cloth on his mouth. Leo must have gotten at least one good punch in for Jake's lip to bleed so much. I imagined his father would be furious when he found out what had happened.

“I’m okay.” Jake said removing the cloth, allowing me to see how swollen his face was becoming. “Did you get all the stuff you needed?”

“Yeah, I did.” I took notice of a family photo that hung next to the window. It was strange to think of the ranch as an actual home before the apocalypse. “You look like your mom.” 

Jake’s face lit up at the comment. He smiled at the picture fondly before shaking his head. “Yeah, back when the world was sane. Do you have any pictures of your family?”

I nodded. “I had a few in my bag when... this all started. My sister had just got a Polaroid camera, so we took some ‘practice’ pictures about a week before.” 

“Yeah, Troy mentioned he’d seen you looking at some photos a few times.” Jake gave me a knowing look before continuing. “What are the photos of?”

I let out a soft chuckle, remembering the exact moments I took the treasured photographs. “One of them is my mom, she was so pissed off when I took it. My sister Libby dyed her hair at home and stained the good bath towels. The picture is of my mom discovering it. I have one of me and my two friends Ellie, and Malia’s matching love heart ankle tattoos, and the last one is of my dad's tragic tattoo.”

“What did he get?”

I rolled my eyes at the memory, “Wiley Woo.”

A looked of amusement spread across Jake's face. “Sorry? He got what?”

“My dad got Liberty on the back of his left elbow, and Wiley Woo on his upper arm. It’s what they called me when I was a baby.”

A stumbling sound came from another room in the house, causing Jake to suddenly appear uncomfortable. “Um..thanks for coming to check on me, but I better get ready for my shift tonight.”

“Yeah of course.” I nodded smiling, “have a good shift, and hopefully it stops bleeding soon.”

# ______

My mind was so occupied, I wasn't even paying attention to anything going on around me with my thoughts running elsewhere when I felt something brush against my arm. 

“Hey.”

I had a warm feeling flush over me as Troy settled in the chair next to me. My cheeks burned, “hi.”

Even though it was dark and the only light was off the fire pit in front of me, I could still see the bandage wrapped around Troy’s knuckles. Frowning, I automatically placed my hand on his to get a better look.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, realizing I’d probably crossed a line.

Troy said nothing but kept his hand where it was. I gulped down before continuing to look at it while he stared at me curiously. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see others giving us stage looks.

“Why are they staring at us?” I asked in a low voice.

A wicked smile spread across Troy’s face as he leaned in closer to me. “Because I shot the last person who grabbed my hand like that.” My eyes widened with shock, I struggled to find a way to reply when he laughed. “It’s a joke, Wylie. Relax, I’m not that crazy.”

I let out a nervous laugh before letting go of his hand. We sat in a comfortable silence watching the surrounding people. Another family had suggested having a small bonfire as it would be good for morale, but so far the only individuals who seemed to really be enjoying it were the kids.

I was actually jealous of their childlike wonder, not afraid of what was lurking outside the ranch.

The sound of Troy clearing his throat distracted me from my own thoughts. “Thanks for going and checking on my brother.”

“It wasn’t a problem.” I shrugged, “we are friends, so I don’t mind.”

“Are we friends?”

The look Troy was giving me was making my heart race, I couldn’t help but smile back. He was so arrogant at times, but still attractive as hell. How was that even possible?

“We can be friends if you want.” I quipped back before standing up. “I’m going to call it a night, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Wylie.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️This chapter is just the first to mention the FTWD/TWD crossovers being mentioned⚠️

# Wylie

_“Were you scratched or bitten?” I asked crouching down._

_The stranger looked up at me. He was crouching down and gripping at his leg. Shaking his head he stood up. “I’m fine, just twisted my ankle.”_

_**“Quick! More are coming!”** _

_I turned to face Andy who was pointing towards a small herd of zombies that were coming towards. Shit. Panicked, I looked around us, trying to find somewhere we could hide. We needed to move fast._

_“Up there!” I yelled pointing towards the trees. “We can hide up there until they are gone.”_

_Myself and Andy helped the limping stranger get high enough that nothing could reach him, while Lily stabbed any zombie that got too close. Andy helped me step up before, Lily joined me._

_As we pulled Andy up a zombie grabbed hold of his shoe. His screams attracted more undead. I pulled out my gun and shot the undead into the head, before pulling my head to safety. Andy gave me the thumbs up while panting. I threw some fun snaps as far away as I could._

_The popping noise caused one undead to turn and walk away, and thankful the rest soon followed. We sat in silence until they were a safe distance away._

_“Wow, you guys are badass. Thanks for saving me.”_

_I looked up at the branch the stranger was sitting on. “No problem, us living need to stick together.”_

_I noticed he hadn’t taken his eyes off Lily, it was slightly strange but I couldn’t blame him. Lily had the sweet girl next door vibe about her, but with a twist. She was one of the best fighters I’d ever seen. Andy must have noticed the stares as well because he raised his eyebrows at me._

_It suddenly dawned on me that none of us had introduced ourselves. The three of us had gone scavenging for food or any supplies. We had only been walking for ten minutes when I came across the stranger screaming in pain on the train tracks, at first I thought his foot was caught in it. I felt bad for the guy, he was out in the woods alone. At least I had found people to call my friends._

_“I’m Wylie,” I smiled. “This is Lily and Andy.”_

_He smiled back, “I’m Gareth.”_

I woke up panting. Brushing my sweaty hair out of my face I opened my eyes. I almost screamed when I saw a figure moving. 

“Troy?” I was confused. “Are you watching me sleep?”

“No.” He crouched down to my level. “I was on patrol and heard you crying...I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Shit, I hope I didn’t wake anybody else up?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s late, you should go back to sleep.”

“Thanks...for checking that I was okay.”

# Troy

I walked back to my post casually, trying not to show how shaken I felt a few moments before. The moment I heard Wylie cry out I expected the worst. 

I was curious to know what she was dreaming about, but I didn’t have time to ask. Once I returned to my post I wrote in my notepad a reminder to ask her. 

Wylie fascinated me. Something about her seemed to lure me in, it was like an obsession. When I first found her I thought she would have an interesting story to share, but now? I wanted to know everything. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, but I was afraid It would scare her. 

My father always told me I had an eye for recognising talent, and that’s what Wylie was. She was smart, and had managed to survive the hellhole we rescued her from. I wasn’t sure what was going on in the world outside the ranch and she was the perfect person to teach me about it.

# Wylie

The next morning I found myself teaching a couple of guys basic car facts. It amazed me how little they knew, I had always just assumed all men were interested in cars. Guess I was wrong.

As I washed the grease off my hands and I noticed Troy walked towards me. I smiled at him, while his face remained expressionless.

“Hi,” he stood at the other side of the basin. “I need to ask you something, and I’ll respect your decision if you say no.”

I felt nervous. What was he going to ask me? “Yeah, go ahead.”

He cleared his throat, “can I...can you tell me about what happened before you came here.”

_Oh._ I’d be lying if I said the question didn’t disappoint me. Did I want to tell him? I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to remember everything that happened. “I want to tell you-” I admitted. “But, truthfully I’m not sure how. Can you give me a bit of time to gather my thoughts, then we can talk about it?”

A pleased look crossed Troy’s face. “That’s fine, come by the house when you're ready.” 

I waited until Troy had started to walk away before running towards my tent. I needed to change my clothes, I don’t think Jermiaha would thank me for dragging the grease and dirt from my clothes into his house. 

Why did I feel so nervous? Last time I felt this was when I was getting ready for a date. I was getting ready to finally talk about what happened, finally tell somebody what happened that night. And how it was all my fault.


End file.
